Linux File Server

Slynet

Slynet

Slynet

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Joined
13 Jun 2008
Posts
115
Hey. I have a old PC laying around so I though I'd put it to some use. I want to install a Linux opperating system on it and use it as a file server to my 2 desktops. First off I'll I've not really looked into this before so I have some questions. Can you stream movies/music from this server, as opposed to copying it from the server then playing it?

Here is how my network is currently set up, after Christmas I will be installing Windows 7 on the second desktop, so both will have Windows 7 installed. Is it fine to be running Linux on the server and having the 2 clients running Windows (I assume so)? What server OS should I use? I am fimiliar with Linux and how to use it, but iIve never ran a server on it.

Cheers.
 
If you setup Samba, you'd see the server just like any other shared resource on your ordinary Windows network. :)

Something you might want to look at is using Samba under Solaris/OpenSolaris with ZFS.
 
I use debian netinstall for my home server. Debian is rock solid and simple to use. I have rtorrent installed, sabnzbd, samba and mediatomb.

I run it GUI less as it isn't needed.
 
Seeing as this will be your first proper go with Linux I'd have to suggest a regular Ubuntu install. It's going to be a lot easier playing around if you've got a gui to fall back on.

That said you really don't need a gui for a home server, so if you're happy to play around with the command line then just jump straight in with an ubuntu Server installation.

At the end of the day you're only really going to need a couple of commands and some configuration to get the server sorted.
 
daz said:
Something you might want to look at is using Samba under Solaris/OpenSolaris with ZFS.
Click to expand...
ZFS is a brilliant filesystem, but I'm not sure if it would be realistic on an "old PC" as per the OP, other than for messing about - obviously it depends on what "old" means in this context, but ZFS could really do with a 64-bit OS and as much RAM as you can throw at it.

Also, if Solaris takes a dislike to your hardware (it's nowhere near as accommodating as recent Linux kernels), then you'll be in for a world of pain.

FreeBSD is an alternative, although not quite as up-to-date as Solaris with its ZFS implementation.
 
On the flipside Ubuntu server was my first propper go with Linux and I found it fantastic for ease of use and learning.
 
Slynet said:
Hey. I have a old PC laying around so I though I'd put it to some use. I want to install a Linux opperating system on it and use it as a file server to my 2 desktops. First off I'll I've not really looked into this before so I have some questions. Can you stream movies/music from this server, as opposed to copying it from the server then playing it?

Here is how my network is currently set up, after Christmas I will be installing Windows 7 on the second desktop, so both will have Windows 7 installed. Is it fine to be running Linux on the server and having the 2 clients running Windows (I assume so)? What server OS should I use? I am fimiliar with Linux and how to use it, but iIve never ran a server on it.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

There are lots of guides on Howtoforge on running the "Perfect Setup" with various distros so have a look and see how far you want to get into setting up the server. You will make mistakes with the setup so you might want to practise with using a virtual machine first before installing on your server and copying a lot of files over to it.

I started with Debian with the netinst that comes in at about 180 Mb. The main criticism I had with a lot of distros is the amount of stuff they install by default that isn't needed for most servers as they're more aimed at desktop use, though to be fair many now release server editions.

With Debian netinst I installed a bare installation then used apt-get to install samba (for file sharing with Windows), SSH (with OpenSSH), MP3 streaming with GNUMP3d (although I think it's now a dead project) and DNS with Bind.

If you're new to Linux then Ubuntu Server might be worth a look.
 
I'm using Fedora 10 for my home server.

I like it, as its pretty straight forward to set up and as long as you don't go latest version (as fedora is a bleeding edge distro) you'll be fine. Currently testing Fedora 12 on my desktop and it seems pretty solid. May update the Server to 12 in a week or two.

I dare say it isn't the most efficient/ optimised solution, but to be honest as long as I find it easy to use, can stream video, do my torrenting etc. using a cut down specialised install is kinda unecessary and causes all sorts of complications my poar little brain can't always manage.

Hardware wise my home server is pretty butch anyway, was built round some free bits I got given (and the rest of the bits that ended up costing a lot more than I will admit to the wife), its a dual processor, dual core Xeon socket 604s with 3Ware IDE RAiD driving 6 x 500Gb SEagate IDE hard drives (in RAID5) for the data array and a samsung 160Gb for the system. All housed in a Coolermaster stacker case, serious overkill to be honest and probably costing me a fortune in electricity as its on 24/7, but it was one of those little projects i did, just cos I could :-)

I'd agree that best thing to do is set up some virtual machines and try out a few Distro's.

E-I
 
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